Day 1

Parenting with Wisdom : Day 1

Do you look at other families and struggle to believe you measure up as a parent? One problem may be that you’re comparing your blooper reels with other people’s highlights.

A popular segment on many sports channels is the blooper reels. These humorous videos show the silly mistakes of professional athletes as they trip and fall over their own feet, miss an easy catch, or stumble over a teammate while chasing the ball.

Other fans would rather watch highlight reels. Instead of goofy blunders, this footage is a collection of great catches, amazing shots, and incredible displays of skill from sporting events around the country. It’s the best of the athletic world.

So what does all this have to do with parenting? Highlight reels show athletes at their best; bloopers, athletes at their worst. As parents, we’re all too familiar with our own mistakes. We remember the harsh words we’ve spoken, or the times we’ve had poor judgment, or the areas where our children struggle and we don’t have any answers. Many times, it can feel like we’re living a blooper reel, except it’s anything but funny.

But other families? We see them from the outside, and it’s like watching a highlight reel. Their children don’t squabble, the parents never have a disagreement, and life is perfect. But is it really? From what I’ve seen, every family has it’s challenges. So don’t get discouraged by comparing your behind-the-scenes struggles with others’ superficial highlights. Remember that God looks at your heart.

For a daily dose of encouragement and perspective, check out Jim Daly’s blog, Daly Focus, at JimDalyBlog.com.